Rent in the capital surged by 12.3 per cent annually, the highest growth measured by estate agent Hamptons in almost 10 years.
The average rent for inner London is now £2,513.
Across the UK, the cost of a privately rented home jumped by 9.8 per cent to an average £1,125.
It is the second consecutive month that rent rises in London outpaced the national average, reversing 26 months of lagging behind.
Almost a third of homes let in London this year have been to someone previously living outside the capital. In 2020 just 12 per cent of tenants were moving from outside the capital.
More than half of these new movers were leaving the Home Counties, Hamptons found.
Despite the surge of tenants returning to London, just under a third are moving for work, down from 40 per cent in 2019.
Regionally rents are growing fastest in the South West a rate of 13.9 per cent over the last 12 months.
Growth is driven by lack of homes with 30 per cent fewer properties coming to market this April than last year.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “With Covid being pushed further to the back of people’s minds, life in the capital is slowly returning to its new normal. Tenants are returning to the bright lights of the city and this is driving rental growth to record highs.
“The rise of remote working means that fewer tenants are moving to the capital specifically for work. In fact, a growing number of tenants choosing to live in London are working fully remotely and could live nearly anywhere in the country. The footloose nature of many jobs today means that it will be culture and lifestyle rather than employment that becomes the capital’s biggest draw.”
